New Delhi, July 18 (UNI) India on Wednesday said that 'Blue Economy' is the path on which alternate economic models for sustainable development should be based and for this oceans should be made the central focal point.
In her keynote address at the 2nd ASEAN-India Blue Economy Workshop here, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs Preeti Saran said: "Blue Economy is of course one of the most important and key areas of cooperation. By harnessing marine resources for economic and social development, in a sustainable manner, without undermining these finite natural resources, is imperative.
She said ASEAN-India cooperation in the field of Blue Economy has tremendous scope and went to reaffirm that the Indian Government stands committed to promoting the Blue Economy.
"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about it on several occasions at national and international levels.
He observed: "To me the Blue Chakra or wheel in India’s national flag represents the potential of Blue Revolution or the Ocean Economy. That is how central the ocean economy is to us", she underlined.
In her address at the workshop being attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Viet Nam, Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS), ASEAN-India Centre at RIS and National Maritime Foundation of India, Ms Saran also said the seabed at present provides 32 per cent of the global supply of hydrocarbons, and oceans hold massive potential for production of renewable energy.
"Emerging technologies are opening up new frontiers of marine resource development, leading, among other things, to the mining of seabed mineral resources," she said.
"The oceans hold the key to the fortunes of the fast evolving global order. Covering 72 per cent of the Earth's surface and constituting over 95 per cent of the biosphere, oceans provide a substantial portion of the world's population with food and livelihood. Eighty per cent of the global goods trade travels via sea, and the marine and coastal environment is a big tourist attraction as well," she said.
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